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Wildlife Disease and Conservation Kira Krend, UHM IGERT fellow

Wildlife Disease and Conservation Kira Krend, UHM IGERT fellow. What is conservation? Scientific study of the nature and status of Earth’s biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction.

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Wildlife Disease and Conservation Kira Krend, UHM IGERT fellow

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  1. Wildlife Disease and Conservation Kira Krend, UHM IGERT fellow

  2. What is conservation? • Scientific study of the nature and status of Earth’s biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction. • Interdisciplinary subject drawing on sciences, economics, and the practice of natural resource management.

  3. How is wildlife disease relevant to conservation? • -Habitat loss and fragmentation driving forces of the loss of biodiversity • -Disease transmission increases in both directions between wildlife and domestics/humans • -Environmental degradation alters the dynamics of disease in natural populations through direct effects of host immunity or through destabilization of social systems • -Appearance of new pathogens with increased virulence

  4. Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) • -Infectious facial tumor cancer (-1 chromosome tumor cells causative agent) • 70% decline in population size since first detection in 1996 • -Spread by biting: mating season=more biting=more transmission • -Frequency dependent • -Conservation efforts: cancer research, culling, infection free devils isolated

  5. Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) • The spread and incidences of CDV epidemics are increasing, due to globalisation and the rise in the domestic and feral dog populations associated with growing human populations, especially where these impinge on previously undisturbed habitats • Seals, African wild dog, black-footed ferret, lions of the Serengeti • -Usually fatal in wild carnivores • Combo of factors

  6. Sin nombre virus (Hantavirus) • Deer mouse natural host, four corners area of southwestern US • Can infect humans via contact with droppings • Rare, but 35% mortality rate humans • 1993 unidentified epidemic in healthy adults • Virus isolated, deer mice had 10x population explosion

  7. Sylvatic Plague • -bacterial infection transmitted by fleas • -Prairie dogs act as reservoirs • -Prairie dogs primary prey of black-footed ferret, live in burrows • -Black-footed ferrets also susceptible: pop size 1000-1300 • -Vaccination attempts • -Rancher concerns

  8. Chytridiomycosis • -Fungus linked to dramatic decline of amphibians worldwide • -“the worst infectious disease ever recorded among vertebrates in terms of the number of species impacted, and its propensity to drive them to extinction.” • -Spread by physical contact with infected individuals and fungus • -Global trade and movement of amphibians increases cross-species contact • -Limited mitigating options

  9. White Nose Syndrome • -first detected in 2006 • -white fungal growth on muzzles, wings, and ears • -500,000 estimated bat deaths in northeastern US • -causative agent unclear • -insect consumption decreased in areas, damage to crop increased

  10. Introduced disease in Hawaiian forest birds • -avian pox and avian malaria • -no mosquitoes, no history of blood parasites • -extremely susceptible • -epizootics decimated native Hawaiian forest birds • -limits demography to high elevation habitat • -significant impact on distribution of species • -strong selective force on remaining populations

  11. Summary -Wildlife disease significant to conservation -Disease transmission increases in both directions between wildlife and domestics/humans -Ecohealth: health of humans, animals, and ecosystem all connected

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